Improved quality of regulation and legislation is now a pronounced objective at European as well as national level. The European Commission have for some years now tried to convince EU member states to reduce the administrative burdens – especially for companies – and make regulatory impact assessment an integrated part of their regulatory process.
The Swedish courts are now in a legal system covering the whole of Europe and their practices. In the case of a preliminary ruling from the European Court of Justice, this is central to the EU's impact in Sweden.
The debate on reform of the EU budget has hitherto primarily centred on how EU money should be spent. But a true reform calls for serious handling of the financing of the budget as well, argues the author of this new analysis.
Despite ambitious targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions, renewable energy use and energy efficiency, the EU was unable to play a central role in last year´s climate negotiations in Copenhagen. Lack of internal coordination was one reason, the EU budget not being adapted to the climate goals another.
Often presented as the "most successful EU policy", enlargement has undoubtedly been one of the most significant undertakings of the European Union over the last two decades. The recent admission of numerous states to the Union has however exposed various shortcomings in the way that policy is carried out.
The European Commission recently launched a discussion on the architecture of direct payments, with a view to rethinking the philosophy of agricultural regulation within the EU. The debate has been pursued under the Swedish EU Presidency.
In order to better understand the Swedish Presidency of the European Union, SIEPS invited a number of experts on the European Union from different member states. They were asked to write short analytical texts on how the Presidency has succeeded in relation to expectations and ambitions.
Circular migration has become a central concept for the future EU migration policy, implying that migrants should be encouraged to move repeatedly between the country of origin and the host country. The basic purpose is to utilise international labour mobility to make both countries’ economies more efficient.
The Eastern Partnership (EaP) was launched in May this year as a strengthened policy framework between the European Union and six countries in Eastern Europe and southern Caucasus. The overall aim of the partnership is to ensure stability and prosperity in a region that is characterized by stalled socio-economic and democratic reforms as well as ethnic tension and even armed conflict.
The automotive industry has been hit hard by the global economic crisis and governmental financial support and rescue packages have been launched in different countries. This European Policy Analysis by Rikard Forslid discusses the economic arguments for governmental support of the car industry.